[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1252 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1252
One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen
An Act
To authorize a comprehensive strategic approach for United States
foreign assistance to developing countries to reduce global poverty and
hunger, achieve food and nutrition security, promote inclusive,
sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth, improve nutritional
outcomes, especially for women and children, build resilience among
vulnerable populations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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This Act may be cited as the ``Global Food Security Act of 2016''.

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Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (referred to in this section as the ``FAO''),
805,000,000 people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger. Hunger and
malnutrition rob people of health and productive lives and stunt
the mental and physical development of future generations.
(2) According to the January 2014 ``Worldwide Threat Assessment
of the US Intelligence Community''--
(A) the ``[l]ack of adequate food will be a destabilizing
factor in countries important to US national security that do
not have the financial or technical abilities to solve their
internal food security problems''; and
(B) ``[f]ood and nutrition insecurity in weakly governed
countries might also provide opportunities for insurgent groups
to capitalize on poor conditions, exploit international food
aid, and discredit governments for their inability to address
basic needs''.
(3) A comprehensive approach to sustainable food and nutrition
security should not only respond to emergency food shortages, but
should also address malnutrition, resilience to food and nutrition
insecurity, building the capacity of poor, rural populations to
improve their agricultural productivity and incomes, removing
institutional impediments to agricultural development, value chain
access and efficiency, including processing and storage, enhancing
agribusiness development, access to markets and activities that
address the specific needs and barriers facing women and small-
scale producers, education, and collaborative research.

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(a) Statement of Policy Objectives.--It is in the national interest
of the United States to promote global food security, resilience, and
nutrition, consistent with national food security investment plans,
which is reinforced through programs, activities, and initiatives
that--
(1) place food insecure countries on a path toward self-
sufficiency and economic freedom through the coordination of United
States foreign assistance programs;
(2) accelerate inclusive, agricultural-led economic growth that
reduces global poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, particularly
among women and children;
(3) increase the productivity, incomes, and livelihoods of
small-scale producers, especially women, by working across
agricultural value chains, enhancing local capacity to manage
agricultural resources effectively and expanding producer access to
local and international markets;
(4) build resilience to food shocks among vulnerable
populations and households while reducing reliance upon emergency
food assistance;
(5) create an enabling environment for agricultural growth and
investment, including through the promotion of secure and
transparent property rights;
(6) improve the nutritional status of women and children, with
a focus on reducing child stunting, including through the promotion
of highly nutritious foods, diet diversification, and nutritional
behaviors that improve maternal and child health;
(7) demonstrably meet, align with and leverage broader United
States strategies and investments in trade, economic growth,
national security, science and technology, agriculture research and
extension, maternal and child health, nutrition, and water,
sanitation, and hygiene;
(8) continue to strengthen partnerships between United States-
based universities, including land-grant colleges, and universities
and institutions in target countries and communities that build
agricultural capacity; and
(9) ensure the effective use of United States taxpayer dollars
to further these objectives.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
President, in providing assistance to implement the Global Food
Security Strategy, should--
(1) coordinate, through a whole-of-government approach, the
efforts of relevant Federal departments and agencies to implement
the Global Food Security Strategy;
(2) seek to fully utilize the unique capabilities of each
relevant Federal department and agency while collaborating with and
leveraging the contributions of other key stakeholders; and
(3) utilize open and streamlined solicitations to allow for the
participation of a wide range of implementing partners through the
most appropriate procurement mechanisms, which may include grants,
contracts, cooperative agreements, and other instruments as
necessary and appropriate.

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In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Feed the future innovation labs.--The term ``Feed the
Future Innovation Labs'' means research partnerships led by United
States universities that advance solutions to reduce global hunger,
poverty, and malnutrition.
(3) Food and nutrition security.--The term ``food and nutrition
security'' means access to, and availability, utilization, and
stability of, sufficient food to meet caloric and nutritional needs
for an active and healthy life.
(4) Global food security strategy.--The term ``Global Food
Security Strategy'' means the strategy developed and implemented
pursuant to section 5(a).
(5) Key stakeholders.--The term ``key stakeholders'' means
actors engaged in efforts to advance global food security programs
and objectives, including--
(A) relevant Federal departments and agencies;
(B) national and local governments in target countries;
(C) other bilateral donors;
(D) international and regional organizations;
(E) international, regional, and local financial
institutions;
(F) international, regional, and local private voluntary,
nongovernmental, faith-based, and civil society organizations;
(G) the private sector, including agribusinesses and
relevant commodities groups;
(H) agricultural producers, including farmer organizations,
cooperatives, small-scale producers, and women; and
(I) agricultural research and academic institutions,
including land-grant universities and extension services.
(6) Malnutrition.--The term ``malnutrition'' means poor
nutritional status caused by nutritional deficiency or excess.
(7) Relevant federal departments and agencies.--The term
``relevant Federal departments and agencies'' means the United
States Agency for International Development, the Department of
Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of State,
the Department of the Treasury, the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Peace
Corps, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the
United States African Development Foundation, the United States
Geological Survey, and any other department or agency specified by
the President for purposes of this section.
(8) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means the ability of
people, households, communities, countries, and systems to
mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses to food
security in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and
facilitates inclusive growth.
(9) Small-scale producer.--The term ``small-scale producer''
means farmers, pastoralists, foresters, and fishers that have a low
asset base and limited resources, including land, capital, skills
and labor, and, in the case of farmers, typically farm on fewer
than 5 hectares of land.
(10) Stunting.--The term ``stunting'' refers to a condition
that--
(A) is measured by a height-to-age ratio that is more than
2 standard deviations below the median for the population;
(B) manifests in children who are younger than 2 years of
age;
(C) is a process that can continue in children after they
reach 2 years of age, resulting in an individual being
``stunted'';
(D) is a sign of chronic malnutrition; and
(E) can lead to long-term poor health, delayed motor
development, impaired cognitive function, and decreased
immunity.
(11) Sustainable.--The term ``sustainable'' means the ability
of a target country, community, implementing partner, or intended
beneficiary to maintain, over time, the programs authorized and
outcomes achieved pursuant to this Act.
(12) Target country.--The term ``target country'' means a
developing country that is selected to participate in agriculture
and nutrition security programs under the Global Food Security
Strategy pursuant to the selection criteria described in section
5(a)(2), including criteria such as the potential for agriculture-
led economic growth, government commitment to agricultural
investment and policy reform, opportunities for partnerships and
regional synergies, the level of need, and resource availability.

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(a) Strategy.--The President shall coordinate the development and
implementation of a United States whole-of-government strategy to
accomplish the policy objectives set forth in section 3(a), which
shall--
(1) set specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, timetables,
performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans that
reflect international best practices relating to transparency,
accountability, food and nutrition security, and agriculture-led
economic growth, consistent with the policy objectives described in
section 3(a);
(2) establish clear and transparent selection criteria for
target countries, communities, regions, and intended beneficiaries
of assistance;
(3) describe the methodology and criteria for the selection of
target countries;
(4) support and be aligned with country-owned agriculture,
nutrition, and food security policy and investment plans developed
with input from key stakeholders, as appropriate;
(5) support inclusive agricultural value chain development,
with small-scale producers, especially women, gaining greater
access to the inputs, skills, resource management capacity,
networking, bargaining power, financing, and market linkages needed
to sustain their long-term economic prosperity;
(6) support improvement of the nutritional status of women and
children, particularly during the critical first 1,000-day window
until a child reaches 2 years of age and with a focus on reducing
child stunting, through nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive
programs, including related water, sanitation, and hygiene
programs;
(7) facilitate communication and collaboration, as appropriate,
among local stakeholders in support of a multi-sectoral approach to
food and nutrition security, to include analysis of the multiple
underlying causes of malnutrition, including lack of access to safe
drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene;
(8) support the long-term success of programs by building the
capacity of local organizations and institutions in target
countries and communities;
(9) integrate resilience and nutrition strategies into food
security programs, such that chronically vulnerable populations are
better able to build safety nets, secure livelihoods, access
markets, and access opportunities for longer-term economic growth;
(10) develop community and producer resilience to natural
disasters, emergencies, and natural occurrences that adversely
impact agricultural yield;
(11) harness science, technology, and innovation, including the
research and extension activities supported by relevant Federal
Departments and agencies and Feed the Future Innovation Labs, or
any successor entities;
(12) integrate agricultural development activities among food
insecure populations living in proximity to designated national
parks or wildlife areas into wildlife conservation efforts, as
necessary and appropriate;
(13) leverage resources and expertise through partnerships with
the private sector, farm organizations, cooperatives, civil
society, faith-based organizations, and agricultural research and
academic institutions;
(14) strengthen and expand collaboration between United States
universities, including public, private, and land-grant
universities, with higher education institutions in target
countries to increase their effectiveness and relevance to promote
agricultural development and innovation through the creation of
human capital, innovation, and cutting edge science in the
agricultural sector;
(15) seek to ensure that target countries and communities
respect and promote land tenure rights of local communities,
particularly those of women and small-scale producers;
(16) include criteria and methodologies for graduating target
countries and communities from assistance provided to implement the
Global Food Security Strategy as such countries and communities
meet the progress benchmarks identified pursuant to section
8(b)(4); and
(17) demonstrably support the United States national security
and economic interest in the countries where assistance is being
provided.
(b) Coordination.--The President shall coordinate, through a whole-
of-government approach, the efforts of relevant Federal departments and
agencies in the implementation of the Global Food Security Strategy
by--
(1) establishing monitoring and evaluation systems, coherence,
and coordination across relevant Federal departments and agencies;
(2) establishing linkages with other initiatives and strategies
of relevant Federal departments and agencies; and
(3) establishing platforms for regular consultation and
collaboration with key stakeholders and the appropriate
congressional committees.
(c) Strategy Submission.--
(1) In general.--Not later than October 1, 2016, the President,
in consultation with the head of each relevant Federal department
and agency, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees the Global Food Security Strategy required under this
section, including a detailed description of how the United States
intends to advance the objectives set forth in section 3(a) and the
agency-specific plans described in paragraph (2).
(2) Agency-specific plans.--The Global Food Security Strategy
shall include specific implementation plans from each relevant
Federal department and agency that describes--
(A) the anticipated contributions of the department or
agency, including technical, financial, and in-kind
contributions, to implement the Global Food Security Strategy;
and
(B) the efforts of the department or agency to ensure that
the activities and programs carried out pursuant to the
strategy are designed to achieve maximum impact and long-term
sustainability.

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(a) Food Shortages.--The President is authorized to carry out
activities pursuant to section 103, section 103A, title XII of chapter
2 of part I, and chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151a, 2151a-1, 2220a et seq., and 2346 et seq.) to
prevent or address food shortages notwithstanding any other provision
of law.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development $1,000,600,000 for
each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018 to carry out those portions of the
Global Food Security Strategy that relate to the Department of State
and the United States Agency for International Development,
respectively.
(c) Monitoring and Evaluation.--The President shall seek to ensure
that assistance to implement the Global Food Security Strategy is
provided under established parameters for a rigorous accountability
system to monitor and evaluate progress and impact of the strategy,
including by reporting to the appropriate congressional committees and
the public on an annual basis.

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(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the crisis in Syria, which is characterized by acts of
terrorism and atrocities directed against civilians, including mass
murder, forced displacement, aerial bombardment, ethnic and
religious persecution, torture, kidnapping, rape and sexual
enslavement, has triggered one of the most profound humanitarian
crises of this century and poses a direct threat to regional
security and the national security interests of the United States;
(2) it is in the national security interests of the United
States to respond to the needs of displaced Syrian persons and the
communities hosting such persons, including with food assistance;
and
(3) after four years of conflict in Syria and the onset of
other major humanitarian emergencies where, like Syria, the
provision of certain United States humanitarian assistance has been
particularly challenging, including the 2013 super-typhoon in the
Philippines, the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in west Africa, the 2015
earthquake in Nepal, ongoing humanitarian disasters in Yemen and
South Sudan, and the threat of a major El Nino event in 2016,
United States international disaster assistance has become severely
stressed.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United
States, in coordination with other donors, regional governments,
international organizations, and international financial institutions,
to fully leverage, enhance, and expand the impact and reach of
available United States humanitarian resources, including for food
assistance, to mitigate the effects of manmade and natural disasters by
utilizing innovative new approaches to delivering aid that support
affected persons and the communities hosting them, build resilience and
early recovery, and reduce opportunities for waste, fraud, and abuse.
(c) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.--
(1) Section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2292) is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
``(c) Emergency Food Security Program.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to the limitations in section 492,
and notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other Act,
the President is authorized to make available emergency food
assistance, including in the form of funds, transfers, vouchers,
and agricultural commodities (including products derived from
agricultural commodities) acquired through local or regional
procurement, to meet emergency food needs arising from manmade and
natural disasters.
``(2) Designation.--Funds made available under this subsection
shall be known as the `International Disaster Assistance -
Emergency Food Security Program'.''.
(2) Section 492 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2292a) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``$25,000,000 for the
fiscal year 1986 and $25,000,000 for the fiscal year 1987.''
and inserting ``$2,794,184,000 for each of fiscal years 2017
and 2018, of which up to $1,257,382,000 should be made
available to carry out section 491(c).''; and
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsections:
``(c) Amounts in Addition to Other Amounts.--Amounts authorized to
be appropriated pursuant to the authorizations of appropriations under
section 491(c) are in addition to funds otherwise available for such
purposes.
``(d) Flexibility.--
``(1) United states policy.--It is the policy of the United
States that the funds made available to carry out section 491 are
intended to provide the President with the greatest possible
flexibility to address disaster-related needs as they arise and to
prepare for and reduce the impact of natural and man-made
disasters.
``(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that any
amendments to applicable legal provisions contained in this Act are
not intended to limit such authorities.
``(e) Report.--Not later than March 1 of each fiscal year, the
President shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives a report that describes the activities undertaken by
the President over the course of the prior fiscal year pursuant to
section 491(c), including the amounts of assistance provided, intended
beneficiaries, monitoring and evaluation strategies, anticipated
outcomes, and, as practicable, actual outcomes.''.

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(a) Global Food Security Strategy Implementation Reports.--Not
later than 1 year and 2 years after the date of the submission of the
strategy required under section 5(c), the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees reports that describe the status
of the implementation of the Global Food Security Strategy for 2017 and
2018, which shall--
(1) contain a summary of the Global Food Security Strategy as
an appendix;
(2) identify any substantial changes made in the Global Food
Security Strategy during the preceding calendar year;
(3) describe the progress made in implementing the Global Food
Security Strategy;
(4) identify the indicators used to establish benchmarks and
measure results over time, as well as the mechanisms for reporting
such results in an open and transparent manner;
(5) describe related strategies and benchmarks for graduating
target countries and communities from assistance provided under the
Global Food Security Strategy over time, including by building
resilience, reducing risk, and enhancing the sustainability of
outcomes from United States investments in agriculture and
nutrition security;
(6) indicate how findings from monitoring and evaluation were
incorporated into program design and budget decisions;
(7) contain a transparent, open, and detailed accounting of
spending by relevant Federal departments and agencies to implement
the Global Food Security Strategy, including, for each Federal
department and agency, the statutory source of spending, amounts
spent, implementing partners and targeted beneficiaries, and
activities supported to the extent practicable and appropriate;
(8) describe how the Global Food Security Strategy leverages
other United States food security and development assistance
programs on the continuum from emergency food aid through
sustainable, agriculture-led economic growth and eventual self-
sufficiency;
(9) describe the contributions of the Global Food Security
Strategy to, and assess the impact of, broader international food
and nutrition security assistance programs, including progress in
the promotion of land tenure rights, creating economic
opportunities for women and small-scale producers, and stimulating
agriculture-led economic growth in target countries and
communities;
(10) assess efforts to coordinate United States international
food security and nutrition programs, activities, and initiatives
with key stakeholders;
(11) assess United States Government-facilitated private
investment in related sectors and the impact of private sector
investment in target countries and communities;
(12) identify any United States legal or regulatory impediments
that could obstruct the effective implementation of the programming
referred to in paragraphs (8) and (9);
(13) contain a clear gender analysis of programming, to inform
project-level activities, that includes established disaggregated
gender indicators to better analyze outcomes for food productivity,
income growth, control of assets, equity in access to inputs, jobs
and markets, and nutrition; and
(14) incorporate a plan for regularly reviewing and updating
strategies, partnerships, and programs and sharing lessons learned
with a wide range of stakeholders in an open, transparent manner.
(b) Global Food Security Crosscut Report.--Not later than 120 days
after the President submits the budget to Congress under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report including--
(1) an interagency budget crosscut report that--
(A) displays the budget proposed, including any planned
interagency or intra-agency transfer, for each of the principal
Federal agencies that carries out global food security
activities in the upcoming fiscal year, separately reporting
the amount of planned funding to be provided under existing
laws pertaining to the global food security strategy to the
extent available; and
(B) to the extent available, identifies all assistance and
research expenditures at the account level in each of the five
prior fiscal years by the Federal Government and United States
multilateral commitments using Federal funds for global food
security strategy activities;
(2) to the extent available, a detailed accounting of all
assistance funding received and obligated by the principal Federal
agencies identified in the report and United States multilateral
commitments using Federal funds, for global food security
activities during the current fiscal year; and
(3) a breakout of the proposed budget for the current and
budget years by agency, categorizing expenditures by type of
funding, including research, resiliency, and other food security
activities to the extent that such information is available.
(c) Public Availability of Information.--The information referred
to in subsections (a) and (b) shall be made available on the public
website of the United States Agency for International Development in an
open, machine readable format, in a timely manner.

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(a) Effect on Other Programs.--Nothing in the Global Food Security
Strategy or this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be
construed to supersede or otherwise affect the authority of the
relevant Federal departments and agencies to carry out programs
specified in subsection (b), in the manner provided, and subject to the
terms and conditions, of those programs, including, but not limited to,
the terms, conditions, and requirements relating to the procurement and
transportation of food assistance furnished pursuant to such programs.
(b) Programs Described.--The programs referred to in subsection (a)
are the following:
(1) The Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.).
(2) The Food for Progress Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1736o).
(3) Section 416(b) of the Agriculture Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C.
1431).
(4) McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program (7 U.S.C.1736o-1).
(5) Local and Regional Procurement Program (7 U.S.C. 1726c).
(6) Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act (7 U.S.C. 1736f-1).
(7) Any other food and nutrition security and emergency and
non-emergency food assistance program of the Department of
Agriculture.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.

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Global Food Security Act of 2016 — S. 1252

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